Factory Moves: Espíritu Flamenco

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Black and white photo of Julio Ruiz
Date
22 Nov 2026
Venue
The Social, Aviva Studios, St John's, Manchester, M3 4JQ
Tickets
Free tickets, booking required

2pm

All access tickets – including wheelchair user spaces, accessible viewing platform tickets and essential companion tickets – must be bought directly from Factory International.

To book access tickets online or register for free essential companion tickets, please sign up to our Access Scheme. We aim to process all applications within five working days.

If you need to book access tickets while your application is being processed, or would prefer to book your tickets by phone, please call up on 0161 817 4531. Phone lines are typically open 10am to 6pm, Tuesday to Friday, but for our latest phone line opening hours, please visit our Contact Us page.

If you need to make an access booking but are unable to do so over the phone, please email access@factoryinternational.org. We aim to respond to all emails within two working days.

For more information, please visit How to Book Access Tickets.

Suitable for all ages. Anyone under the age of 14 must be accompanied by an adult aged 18+.

Book Your Free Ticket

Suitable for all ages. Anyone under the age of 14 must be accompanied by an adult aged 18+.
Running time: 3 hours

Discover the world of flamenco with an afternoon of workshops and performances

Curated by Espíritu Flamenco, this edition of Factory Moves provides a window into the family culture of flamenco and contemporary flamenco today. Both are still firmly rooted in the traditions that led to the art form being listed by UNESCO as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

First, join an introduction to traditional flamenco dance suitable for complete beginners. Then, try a workshop for contemporary dancers, a question-and-answer session with all artists and a relaxed session combining flamenco clapping and audience participation.

Finally, enjoy a performance from Julio Ruiz and a Fin de Fiesta from all the artists.

All ages and abilities welcome!

Factory Moves is a dance programme dedicated to supporting grassroots artists, collectives, and dance institutions in Manchester. Our strands – Talk, Learn, Exchange and Present – feature a diverse range of activities including expert-led Q&As and workshops, community networking, knowledge exchange, showcases, battles, cyphers and much more.

Schedule

2pm: Flamenco dance for all ages led by Sarah (with singer and guitar accompaniment at the end)

2.45pm: Flamenco dance for contemporary dancers led by Julio (with singer and guitar accompaniment at the end)

3.45pm: Question and answer session about the community aspect of flamenco led by all artists

4.15pm: Palmas (flamenco clapping) and jaleos (audience participation) led by Sarah

4.35pm: Contemporary flamenco performance by Julio, singer and guitar, and Fin de fiesta for bulerías featuring all artists

5pm: event ends

Bios

Sarah Chambers is a music graduate, flamenco dancer and teacher. She has studied this art form for over 16 years, bringing teachers and shows to the Northwest of England with her company Espíritu Flamenco.

Julio Ruiz is a professional flamenco dancer and choreographer originally from Almería and currently based between Madrid and Paris. He has presented many of his own shows at major festivals including Tocar un Hombre at Sadlers Wells and La Familia at the International Flamenco Festival of Jerez. He is the first flamenco ‘bailaor’ to be awarded a residency at the Centre National de la Danse de Paris.

Teresa Hernández was born in La Línea de la Concepción. She is a flamenco singer, guitarist and composer. Her debut album and first solo show Romances de la voz herida explores her journey of learning and discovering her own voice. Teresa travels across the world accompanying renowned artists such as Eduardo Guerrero, Joaquín Cortés, Antonia Jiménez and José Maldonado.

José ‘El Peli’ Muñoz is a guitarist, composer and producer as well as a regular at international flamenco festivals around the world. He is currently touring with Alter Ego, a spectacular show with Alfonso Losa and dancer Patricia Guerrero. His first album Me lo sopla el viento is a collaboration with the Malaga-born flamenco singer Al-Blanco. The live album demonstrates his deep understanding of the guitar, his love for flamenco and his contemporary vision of the genre.

Access information

Getting to Aviva Studios

Our full address is Aviva Studios, Water Street, Manchester M3 4JQ and the what3words is chop.feeds.chase.

You can approach Aviva Studios along Water Street (coming from Quay Street) or along Liverpool Road (coming from Deansgate or Castlefield). Both entrances to the building have double sets of glass doors.

Inside Aviva Studios

Once inside Aviva Studios, there is step-free access to all areas of the venue. The flooring throughout the building is smooth concrete.

The entrance to the Warehouse is by lift or stairs from the Social. Two lifts and a staircase to the Warehouse are located in the Social opposite the bar.

The entrance to the Andrew Law Hall is by lift, escalator or stairs from one side of the Social beside the brick arches. There is only one escalator, and this will take you up to the Andrew Law Hall before the show, and will be reversed so that you can travel down at the end of the performance.

The Social has a range of seating, including those with arms and backs.

The bars in the Social and Hall Foyer have lowered accessible service points.

Our building is large. We have portable stools available to borrow if you would benefit from resting along the way during your visit.

We have wheelchair spaces and seats at standing events for all events.

Toilets

There are accessible toilets on all public levels of our building.

Accessible toilets are located inside the main toilets space in the brick arches of the Social.

Here you’ll find a mixture of accessible cubicles with left- or right-hand transfer, towards the back of the space, as well as ambulant accessible cubicles with grab rails.

The toilets in the brick arches of the Social are split into male, female and gender neutral – all of which contain accessible cubicles. There are shared handwashing facilities in each arch – they have soap dispensers under the mirrors to your left and dryers to the right. There are separate handwashing facilities inside the accessible cubicles.

There are additional single-room accessible toilets located in both Hall Foyers, at stalls and circle level.

There are additional single-room accessible toilets located in the Warehouse Foyer.

You do not need a key to use the accessible toilets at Aviva Studios.

Please note, our Changing Places facility is temporarily out of action. We are working to fix this and apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Assistance dogs

Assistance dogs are welcome in our building, and we can provide mats and water bowls on request, just ask a host when you arrive. We can also take care of your assistance dog if you do not want to take your dog into the performance space. Please also refer to our assistance dogs policy.

If you are bringing an assistance dog to a ticketed event, please let us know in advance by contacting access@factoryinternational.org or calling our access phone number: 0161 817 4531 (phone lines are open 10am to 6pm, Monday to Saturday).

Step-free seating and wheelchair access

There is step-free access to all areas of the venue including the Social.

There will be unallocated seating available for this event. If you have specific access requirements and require reserved seating, please call 0161 817 4531 (Tuesday to Friday, 10am to 6pm) or email access@factoryinternational.org.

Tickets and booking

All access tickets – including wheelchair user spaces, accessible viewing platform tickets and essential companion tickets – must be bought directly from Factory International.

To book access tickets online or register for free essential companion tickets, please sign up to our Access Scheme. We aim to process all applications within five working days.

If you need to book access tickets while your application is being processed, or would prefer to book your tickets by phone, please call up on 0161 817 4531. Phone lines are typically open 10am to 6pm, Tuesday to Friday, but for our latest phone line opening hours, please visit our Contact Us page.

If you need to make an access booking but are unable to do so over the phone, please email access@factoryinternational.org. We aim to respond to all emails within two working days.

For more information, please visit How to Book Access Tickets.

Travel information

Aviva Studios can be approached along Water Street (coming from Quay Street) or along Liverpool Road (coming from Deansgate or Castlefield).

Train and tram

There are a number of rail and tram stations within the city centre which are just a short distance from Aviva Studios. The closest stations are:

By bike and active means

By Bike

There are 40 bike parking spaces at Aviva Studios including space for two accessible bikes.

National Cycling Route 6 passes close to the venue and this TfGM webpage can help with route planning.

You can also hire bikes from on-street docking stations across the city centre. The closest Starling Bike docking stations to our venue are on current on Quay Street, New Quay Street and Liverpool Road. Take a look at Transport for Greater Manchester’s webpage for advice on cycle hire.

By Walking and Other Active Means

Aviva Studios can be approached along Water Street via Liverpool Road (coming from Deansgate or Castlefield).

If you're coming from Quay Street, the safest route to avoid construction works is via the cut-through opposite Gartside Street and past Booking.com.

All footways in the surrounding area are well lit and there are appropriate crossings across all main roads.

Pedestrians with visual impairment are recommended to approach the building via Water Street, from Liverpool Road. This route has traditional carriageway and footway design with fixed street furniture which should help with navigation to the entrance.

A footbridge at Left Bank in Spinningfields provides an accessible link across the River Irwell to Salford Central station, and a further footbridge also links Aviva Studios with the Salford area of Middlewood Locks.

Bus

Free bus

The free bus 1 service connects Piccadilly Station, Oxford Road and Deansgate rail stations, as well as other areas of the city centre to Aviva Studios.

The service stops on both Liverpool Road and Quay Street, close to the venue. Buses operate every 10 minutes during the day from Monday to Sunday and they are wheelchair accessible. For full details of the free bus 1 route and timetable, please visit the Bee Network website.

Bee Network services

Piccadilly Gardens is situated in the heart of Manchester and there are a number of bus services that will take you on to Aviva Studios. The 33 bus which starts at Shudehill, calls at Piccadilly Gardens and will take you straight to Liverpool Road. Services operate every 30 minutes Monday to Saturday and every hour on Sunday.

Alternatively, you can board either a 35, 36 or 38 bus to Bridge Street bus stop which is a seven-minute walk via Left Bank and Water Street to the venue.

Coming into Manchester Victoria rail station? Head on over to Shudehill Interchange (which is a seven-minute walk via Hanover Street) where you can catch the 33 bus to Liverpool Road.

Alternatively, you can board either an 8, 67 or 100 bus from Manchester Victoria to Bridge Street bus stop, which is a seven-minute walk via Left Bank and Water Street to the venue.

Car

There is a NCP car park (Manchester Spinningfields) approximately 0.25 miles (400m) away from Aviva Studios at Spinningfields, New Quay Street, Manchester, M3 3BE. It has 35 accessible bays.

There are a small number of Blue Badge spaces along Water St and Quay St. Otherwise head towards Liverpool Road, Great John St and Lower Byrom St – close to our neighbours, the Science and Industry Museum where there are a small number of additional Blue Badge spaces.

For a list of other parking bays available in the area, visit Manchester City Council website.

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